The Depression ruined many lives. It also ruined many a plan for ambitiously opulent cars. Such is the case with the vision for a front-wheel-drive V-16 Cord, a proposed successor to the L-29 that would “be the sensation of the automotive world.” When that became untenable with the deepening economic crisis, a plan B was worked up to reduce the cylinder count by four, but even the V-12 Cord never made it to production. Pieces of it survived, however, and when the impressive body of the so-called Cord E-1 turned up, it touched off a round of research that paired it with the V-12 that apparently once powered it. Pat Tobin assembled the story, the first part of which appeared in SIA #119, October 1990.

Boy, did I enjoy this SIA article! Chills went up and down my spine as I contemplated the fact that the one of a kind prototype engine had gone on, nearly unnoticed, earning its keep by generating electricity for decades. Great story and a rare glimpse into some really obscure automotive history.